An exciting listening adventure: The "Ten Preludes" by Sofia Gubaidulina from 1974 merge with the Allemandes from Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites into a fascinating dialogue between past and present.

Why Poesia? Because this album explores the cello as a lyrical instrument, with resonances close to the human voice. From the bel canto of Mercadante, a little-known but refined opera composer, to Vanherenthals' flamboyant Rhapsody on the Themes of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, each work evokes the vocal universe, sometimes with modesty, sometimes with exuberance.

Paul Ben-Haim ranks among those leading Israeli composers from his generation. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and served as an assistant conductor to both Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch. His extensive catalogue comprises works in all the primary genres apart from opera. Music for or with cello features prominently throughout Ben-Haim's output. Following emigration, he increasingly advocated a specifically Jewish national expression while his own compositions favoured a late-Romantic vein redolent of - though by no means indebted (unlike other contemporaries) to - Ernest Bloch and frequently informed by Middle-Eastern overtones.

This publication completes the entire oeuvre of cello sonatas composed and published in London by Emanuel Siprutini between 1756 and 1774 as Op.I, III, V, VI and VII. Born in Holland or Portugal into the Jewish family of Shiprut, he came to England following the "Jewish naturalization act" established in 1753 by King George II of England, settling in London as a wine merchant, virtuoso cellist and cello teacher. Little information about him comes from the letters of Leopold Mozart, who met him in London in 1764 during his stay in England with his prodigious son, still a child. John Crosdill, the most famous English cellist of the eighteenth century, was Siprutini's student until his debut as a concert performer.

Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hebra�que is the most celebrated part of Ernest Bloch's Jewish Cycle, and although originally conceived for voice, Bloch determined that only the cello could adequately embody the character of Solomon. The Suite for Viola and Piano was composed between February and May 1919, and the cello version is the work of the pianist and composer Adolph Baller and cellist Gabor Rejto, who recorded their version in 1969. This album sees the World Premiere Recording of the cello version for orchestra, with cellist Parry Karp, who studied with Rejto "getting to record these two masterpieces with conductor Kenneth Woods and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a dream come true" - Parry Karp.

Musical individuality rather than symbiotic fusion: on historical instruments, but with the greatest expressive freedom, the musical details of Beethoven, Schubert, and Vorisek's works from early-nineteenth-century Vienna speak directly to the listener.

Naji Hakim: A New Voice for the Cello Gwendeline Lumaret explores the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions in Hakim's striking solo and chamber works. This album presents a striking collection of solo and chamber works for cello by�Naji Hakim, performed by�Gwendeline Lumaret�with clarity, virtuosity, and deep expressive insight. Known for his distinctive synthesis of Western classical traditions and Middle Eastern influences, Hakim's writing is both intricate and immediate, drawing on sources as diverse as Gregorian chant, Levantine folk music, and the harmonic innovations of French modernism. The album opens with�Arabesque et Variations, a vivid solo work inspired by the Egyptian song�Ya Chadi el Alhhan�by Sayyed Darwish. The piece moves through four contrasting variations, shifting from playful dance to contemplative lyricism before concluding with an intimate, improvisatory coda.�Missa Cum Jubilo, also for solo cello, takes it's themes from the Gregorian Mass IX. Each movement transforms the chant material into distinct sound worlds, from the expressive ornamentation of the�Kyrie�to the perpetual motion of the�Sanctus�and the luminous tranquillity of the�Agnus Dei. In�Prelude et Habanera, Hakim pays homage to both Bach and the Spanish-inflected harmonies of Ravel and Debussy. The�Prelude�unfolds with the clarity of a Baroque toccata, while the�Habanera�evokes a sultry, shifting landscape of rhythm and color.�Montmartre, written in 2023, is a deeply personal reflection on the history and spiritual resonance of the Parisian district where Hakim served as organist of the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. The album concludes with�Levantine Variations�for cello and piano, a work rooted in the popular song�Bint El Shalabiya. The melody's modal inflections and asymmetrical rhythms are explored through five transformations, ranging from contrapuntal chorale to martial intensity and a dazzling final movement that merges symphonic variation with sonata form. With world premiere recordings of these works, this album is a significant contribution to the contemporary cello repertoire. Gwendeline Lumaret, a performer of remarkable versatility, brings out the rhythmic and expressive richness of Hakim's writing, illuminating the music's interplay of Eastern and Western traditions with precision and artistry.

Award-winning duo, cellist Doris Hochscheid and pianist Frans van Ruth present enchanting works by Daniel van Goens with natural elegance and breathtaking virtuosity. Their highly-acclaimed Dutch Cello Sonatas Project is a veritable treasure trove of musical rediscoveries and the duo was honoured with the Knight's Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau for their contribution to Dutch culture.

The sound of the accordion is an underexploited resource in classical music; it is heard even less frequently in combination with other instruments. This recital of music by Irish composers for cello and accordion - from the nimble folk idiom of Turlough Carolan to the passionate Romanticism of more recent men and women - demonstrates just how effectively these colours blend together. And it is not just the medium which is unusual: much of this music is as good as unknown.

The youngest musician ever to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, exciting American cellist Zlatomir Fung has collated an album of opera fantasies including Fantasy on Jenufa which he arranged himself and a Fantasy written especially for him - Fantasia Carmen - by composer Marshall Estrin. After extensive research Fung found these fantasies for cello used recognizable tunes from famous operas to create a free medley and that there are few rules beyond the pure expression of the composer's personality, interests, and strengths as a cellist. But it's more unconventional elements reimagine the notion of the fantasy itself, proving that the genre's possibilities are far from exhausted-and, indeed, may only be in their infancy. After his Tchaikovsky competition win, Fung has garnered accolades, critical acclaim and standing ovations at performances around the world, more and more widely recognized as one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 25-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

This release further explores the rarely performed or recorded concert music of Miklos Rozsa (of Ben Hur fame), coupling his Rhapsody for Cello in which the young composer truly found his style, his Notturno Ungherese ("a nostalgic night piece, harking back to the memories of my childhood in Hungary"), and the late Sinfonia concertante for violin and cello, a fiendishly difficult violin-cello double concerto that is among Rozsa's finest, least film-music-like concert works - and one of his most underrated. Gregor Piatigorsky and Jascha Heifetz, who instigated it's composition, never ended up playing it, but Harriet Krijgh and Nikita Boriso-Glebsky certainly do.

The six suites for solo cello are frequently considered to be Bach’s greatest masterpieces and are a pinnacle of the Baroque cello repertory. This new album of Bach’s complete Cello Suites has the unique feature of being performed using two different historic cellos, one of them being a rare five-string instrument from the 17th century, which is used on Suite 6.

Cellist William Skeen is one of the world’s premiere Baroque cellists. He serves as Principal Cellist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Voices of Music, and was Principal Cellist of the American Bach Soloists for nearly two decades. Mr. Skeen taught Baroque cello and viola da gamba at the University of Southern California for two decades. Mr. Skeen has received two GRAMMY® nominations for previous albums. He continues to perform regularly with major orchestras and Baroque groups around the world.

This new release of the Six Cello Suites was beautifully recorded by famed multi-GRAMMY®-winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. It was mastered by RR's own multi-GRAMMY®-nominated engineer, Sean Royce Martin. The album was produced by the outstanding San Francisco-based Lolly Lewis, who in recent years has been particularly focused on period instrument performance and has produced six albums with the New Esterházy Quartet.

Italian composers and instrumentalists born in the second half of nineteenth-century Italy can be seen as the children of a true cultural revolution of the Risorgimento. This revolution was induced by the need to create a new national musical identity, disengaged from the iconic and dominant role of opera. In fact, for much of the nineteenth century, the operatic tradition had overshadowed the instrumental one, which began to regain particular momentum and diffusion only after 1860. Unified Italy was now compared to the great European powers and needed to be more cultured, progressive, and sophisticated. Instrumental music (symphonic and chamber), had always been associated with literature, philosophy, and the more intellectual world, and was perfectly suited to embody a new musical identity of the country that could match and compete with the great German model. It is the case of the three composers here represented (Sinigaglia, Fano, Massarani), who fully embraced the legacy of their predecessors but, like them, paid the price of living in a transitional historical moment. Like in a limbo between the "old" and the "new," between Romanticism - at the time entirely exhausted in the rest of Europe - and the first glimmers of a new musical language that would soon move towards deconstruction with the avant-gardes of the 20th century. Yet, the outcome of their work is worthy of historical and performance interest, and shows the necessity of rediscovering a significant portion of Italian music history. Certainly, their shared Jewish background and the consequent censorship of the racial laws from the early 1930s may have contributed to some extent to the oblivion that befell these names. Riccardo Pes and Pierluigi Piran focus this recording on the interesting works for cello and piano by the three authors.

Cellist Philipp Schupelius, winner of the 2023 German Music Competition, has just been named one of the 30 most exciting young musicians by Classic FM. His debut album is being released on the GENUIN label as part of the Primavera series, created in collaboration with the German Music Council. Schupelius effortlessly bridges the gap between the Venetian Baroque of Antonio Vivaldi (with the finely nuanced accompaniment of the Metamorphosen Berlin Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt) and the dazzling late-Romantic sounds of Sergei Rachmaninoff (brilliantly supported on piano by Yukino Kaihara). He masterfully captures both Vivaldi's delicate Baroque ornamentation and Rachmaninoff's sweeping passion!

Augusta read thomas : Rhea enchanted (2016)For solo celloDuration: c. 5 minutesFormat: A4 loose sheetsAlso available for solo violin (NMP1035) and solo viola (NMP1036)Available on CD, NI6355“Although highly notated, precise, carefully structured, soundly proportioned, and while the musician is elegantly working from a nuanced, specific text, I like my music to have the feeling that it is organically being self-propelled – on the spot - as if we listeners are overhearing (capturing) an un-notated, deeply musical improvisation.” Augusta Read Thomas

Augusta read thomas : Venus enchanted (2016)For solo celloDuration: c. 5½ minutesFormat: 8-page A4 saddle stitched scoreAlso available for solo violin (NMP1032) and solo viola (NMP1033)Available on CD and for download, NI6355“I wanted to compose a short piece that “shows off” the player’s many talents: elegant soft playing, rich double stops, virtuosic music, athletic music, driving and passionate music, calm music, etc. I wanted to try to sculpt a short piece - but one with fertile variety of characters all woven together in a tightly integrated and organic composition –so as to illustrate a variety of colors in sublime string playing.”Augusta Read Thomas

Augusta read thomas :rainbow bridge to paradise (2016)For Solo CelloDuration: c. 4½ minutesFormat: 8-page A4 saddle stitched sheet musicAlso available for solo violin (NMP1043) and solo viola (NMP1044)“Rainbow Bridge to Paradise starts at the very bottom note of the cello, in the deep, rich, elegant tones of the instrument and traverses to the very bright, clear, clean, optimistic top register of the instrument. This music’s vibrant, expressive and distinct ‘picture’ is one of an ascent from earth to paradise across a colorful bridge.” Augusta Read Thomas

Combined with the first volume of this series dedicated to the cello in the eighteenth century; where the 12 sonatas of Lanzetti’s Op. I of 1736 are proposed; plus the sonata which was added years later in the English edition of Op. II and III; simple transcriptions for flute of eleven of those of his first published work; this recording of the complete Op. V and VI completes the entire corpus of music that this author had published in print. Between about 1750 and ‘60; following a serious illness that brought him close to death; he wanted to publish the first of these two works; and the second following a total and happy recovery.

Star cellist Dai Miyata demonstrates the sheer power and passion of Piazzolla's Tangos.

The cello is said to be the instrument most similar to the human voice. On his new GENUIN CD, the outstanding cellist Dorukhan Doruk brings out the vocal qualities of the cello and its ability to let the tones shine. On the recording, he plays exclusively works for cello solo of the 20th and 21st centuries, including two works by great Turkish composers, namely Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Fazil Say, as well as compositions by Gaspar Cassado, Ernest Bloch, and Giovanni Sollima. The winner of multiple international prizes has recorded a program "From Darkness into Light", which ranges from Saygun's veiled sounds to Sollima's virtuoso caprices. Exciting new territory!